The Hunchback of Notre Dame on Stage

Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Updates by Carol de Giere

Read Here about Album, Licensing, Song List, and more

Fall 2015 update: The writers, cast, and musicians from the recent stage productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (music by Menken, Lyrics by Schwartz) have finished their work in the recording studio.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (American Premiere Studio Cast Recording) (link to Amazon)
(CD and MP3 files) features Michael Arden as Quasimodo, Patrick Page as Dom Claude Frollo, Ciara Renée as Esmeralda, Andrew Samonsky as Captain Phoebus de Martin and Erik Liberman as Clopin Trouillefou, as well as the ensemble and a sizable orchestra. These players were part of the show's U.S. Premiere productions at La Jolla Playhouse and Paper Mill Playhouse during their 2014-15 seasons.

Professional productions announced so far: Denmark (Fredericia Theater), Hungary (Budapest Operetta), and across the USA: California Musical Theatre - Music Circus in Sacramento, La Mirada Theatre in the Los Angeles area, Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah, Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, and the Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale.

THE SCORE for The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Stage

With songs by Alan Menken (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics), this stage production includes songs from the movie adaptation and more. Note that "Someday," which only played over the credits in the movie version, is included in the stage production.

From Act II:
16. Flight Into Egypt,
17. The Court of Miracles,
18. In a Place of Miracles,
19. Justice In Paris,
20. Someday,
21. While the City Slumbered,
22. Made of Stone,
23. Finale

Songs from the Stage Production as listed in the Paper Mill Playhouse playbill:

ACT ONE
The Bells of Notre Dame
Sanctuary
Out There
Topsy Turvy
--Rest and Recreation
--Rhythm of the Tambourine
God Help the Outcasts
Top of the World
The Tavern Song (Thai Mol Piyas)
Heaven's Light
Hellfire
Esmeralda

ACT TWO
Entr'acte
Flight into Egypt
The Court of Miracles
In a Place of Miracles
Someday
Made of Stone
Finale Ultimo

Have you wondered how the Alan Menken - Stephen Schwartz collaboration works? What comes first? Where do they get their ideas for songs? Read Carol de Giere's Defying Gravity for the story of Hunchback's development for film and much more. The book also includes writing tips from both Schwartz and Menken. See www.DefyingGravityTheBook.com

Previous updates

Languages

This stage production is in English, with a splash of Latin, Romani - e.g. Thai Mol Piyas (the language of the gypsies), and a tiny bit of French.

West and East Coast Premieres - a new Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz score

Update April 2015

The new stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame opened at Paper Mill Playhouse and ran through April 5. It featured music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Reviews were mixed. The aim now is for it to become available for licensing by local theater groups.

Update January 2015

The new stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame will have an east coast premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse March 4 - 29, 2015 following a successful run in San Diego in the fall.

Some modifications are being made between productions. The show is being directed by Scott Schwartz (Stephen's son) and features a new book by Peter Parnell. It is clear from reviews that the stage musical is not at all a copy of the movie. See, for example, James Herbert review of Hunchback - San Diego U-T.

November 2014

The new stage adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame opened November 9, 2014 at the La Jolla Playhouse.

Updated August, 2014:Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken have completed the last version of the score for the stage adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. With a new book by Peter Parnell, this is a signficantly revised English language version of the show that ran for three years in Berlin, Germany starting in 1999.

The first American production of the show will premiere October 28 - December 7, 2014 at the La Jolla Playhouse near San Diego, California. Menken and Schwartz have been working on the new score over the years.

The show will have an east coast premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse March 4 - 29, 2015.

A workshop production was held in January of 2014. The upcoming productions will include changes made since the workshop. Stephen Schwartz is pleased to be working with his son Scott Schwartz, the show's director. Stephen commented after the January workshop, "I always love working with Scott, and this time was no exception. I feel he always delivers the show I have in my head, but then he does something more with it that I couldn't have imagined."

Updated January 24, 2014

Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame stage production will receive its USA premiere at the La Jolla PLayhouse October 28 through December 7, 2014. The Playhouse is in La Jolla, California, just north of San Diego. The musical team responsible for the animated feature score continue with this stage version: Alan Menken (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics). The new book is by Peter Parnell. Scott Schwartz directs and Josh Bergasse choreographs. The La Jolla production is made possible through a special arrangement with Disney.

According to Schwartz, the new production "is a re-imagining of the material for the stage, using elements of the movie and the 1999 German versions, but also many new and extensively revised scenes and songs."

Update December, 2013

After Stephen Schwartz finished lyrics for the scores for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney movies in the mid 1990s, he and composer Alan Menken contributed to an ambitious German stage production of the musical in Berlin that ran for 3 years.

Now Disney Theatrical is completing an English version for stage. The company will hold a developmental lab in New York City January 6 - 17, 2014, according to a casting notice. This lab will feature a new book by The Cider House Rules playwright Peter Parnell and will be helmed by Scott Schwartz.

The January lab will be a departure from the earlier stage adaptation, according to a Playbill.com notice. It Disney as saying they have an eye toward a possible regional theatre production. The epic tale is set in late 15th century Paris. The Hunchback of Notre Dame investigates "what makes a monster and what makes a man," as Schwartz wrote in one of his lyrics.

"...The other writing project I am currently involved in is a possible re-working of the stage version of the Disney animated feature THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, for which I wrote lyrics to music by Alan Menken. This is also in early development, but if we go forward, it looks as if Alan and I will be writing some new songs for it. As I've said before, I very much enjoyed working on both the movie and the German stage production from 1999, and I love Alan's music for it and have always thought it his best score, so if this moves ahead, I think it could be fulfilling...."

Along with a host of other projects lined up for Disney Theatrical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is finally moving towards an English language stage production. The soaring Alan Menken score with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz reaches well beyond the animated movie version in terms of scope of the story and number of songs. A German language version of the show was already a hit, running for three years in Berlin, beginning in 1999. The forthcoming American production will, according to reports, be helmed by Schwartz's son, Scott Schwartz (Golda's Balcony)

ABOUT THE SHOW

The hunch that Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame story would make a great musical proved more successful and enduring than Disney even expected. Although their animated feature film released worldwide in 1996 faired less well than other animated films, it attracted a fan following and rose again in altered form as an adult-oriented stage production in Berlin, Germany. Der Glockner Von Notre Dame became the longest running musical in that city (1999-2002).

U.S. fans begged for stage production to be translated back into English and run in America, but Disney had its commitments to Beauty and the Beast on Broadway and others shows. Plans were then made for a made-for-TV movie.

Show lyricist, Stephen Schwartz, has previously expressed hopes for an English version that can be produced in regional theatres, colleges, etc. "I would indeed be disappointed if the show were never done again, as it has always been one of my favorites musically."

You're visiting MusicalSchwartz.com, an independent resource site on Broadway and film composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and his musicals Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, Disney movies, and others. This site by Carol de Giere offers information, tips, and products through affiliate programs. A Stephen Schwartz fan site.